“People will stare. Make it worth their while.”
—Harry Winston
DOJ Dismisses Case After Court Explains That Feds Can’t Just Grab Someone’s Laptop At The Border | Techdirt
Hey! Remember the 4th amendment? Turns out that’s still a thing!
Seriously, props to this judge for reinforcing this previously-lacking area of rights.
Quote from the court follows, emphasis added.
After considering all of the facts and authorities set forth above, then, the Court finds, under the totality of the unique circumstances of this case, that the imaging and search of the entire contents of Kim’s laptop, aided by specialized forensic software, for a period of unlimited duration and an examination of unlimited scope, for the purpose of gathering evidence in a pre-existing investigation, was supported by so little suspicion of ongoing or imminent criminal activity, and was so invasive of Kim’s privacy and so disconnected from not only the considerations underlying the breadth of the government’s authority to search at the border, but also the border itself, that it was unreasonable.
The Power of Power Cycling – Growthalytics
PRO TIP: If you’re having problems with a thing, try turning it off and back on.
An electrical engineer, a mechanical engineer, and a software engineer are riding in a car on their way to a conference. The car’s brakes fail on a hill; but luckily the engineers are able to pull the car to the side without anyone getting hurt.
The electrical engineer says: “The problem might be in the electrical system. I will start by checking the fuse box.”
The mechanical engineer says: “The problem might be in the hydraulics. l will start by checking the fluid levels”
The software engineer says: “Why don’t we all get out of the car and get back in and see if that fixes the problem”
A Salute To Solo Programmers
TL;DR: There are still some great, lean, focused pieces of software written by individual humans.
Photo: Dominic Alves, Flickr
Parkinson’s Law tells us that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”. Applied to software, this means that applications tend to bloatware, obese programs whose complexity makes them nearly impossible to debug and maintain.
Once upon a time, we were awestruck by the “solo climber”, the programmer who could single-handedly write a magnum opus on a barebones machine such as the Apple ][ with its 64 kilobytes of memory (yes, kilo — not mega, let alone gigabytes), and 8-bit processor running at 1MHz (again, mega not giga).
Source: A Salute To Solo Programmers by Jean-Louis Gassée
Twitter has killed Politwoops, which kept an eye on politicians’ deleted tweets in 30 countries
Hm. Interesting conundrum. Should politicians’ tweets be subject to more scrutiny?
$TWTR defends elected officials’ right to delete… but I think we all know the Internet never forgets. Twitter is covering their bases here, since they need politicians (and everyone who’s anyone) using their service if they want to survive.
I see this as being closely related to the excellent site NewsDiffs.org—in that Politwoops was also keeping track of that which has been said, even if it’s later altered.
Twitter says:
Imagine how nerve-wracking – terrifying, even – tweeting would be if it was immutable and irrevocable? No one user is more deserving of that ability than another. Indeed, deleting a tweet is an expression of the user’s voice.
Open State Foundation director Arjan El Fassed says:
What elected politicians publicly say is a matter of public record. Even when tweets are deleted, it’s part of parliamentary history. These tweets were once posted and later deleted. What politicians say in public should be available to anyone. This is not about typos but it is a unique insight on how messages from elected politicians can change without notice.
Source: Twitter has killed Politwoops, which kept an eye on politicians
Up in the Air • Damn Interesting
Wow! Gripping story of a real, daring escape.
As night fell over the East German town of Pössneck on the evening of 14 September 1979, most of the town’s citizens were busy getting ready for bed. But not Günter Wetzel. The mason was in his attic, hunched over an old motor-driven sewing machine, desperately working to complete his secret project.
Source: Up in the Air • Damn Interesting
Elon Musk’s hyperloop is actually getting kind of serious | Ars Technica
The startup plans to start construction on a full-scale, passenger-ready Hyperloop in 2016. The prototype will run 5 miles through Quay Valley, a planned community rising from nothing along Interstate 5, midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Source: Elon Musk’s hyperloop is actually getting kind of serious | Ars Technica
Cool Domain Names (October 2012 Edition)
First and foremost, I have found this one: http://innuen.do (!!!)
Seriously, that must be one of the coolest domain name hacks I’ve ever thought of. And, as of now, it’s available! Someone please go buy that, kthx.
In keeping with this theme, I also see that comman.do is available, although unfortunately crescen.do is not.
Unrelated side note: did you know Antarctica has it’s own domain extension?
Here’s a cool one that might be available for any mystic, superstitious types: http://occu.lt
Finally, if anyone could register http://gra.ph, that would probably be amazing.
List of “Adventure Time” Sexual Innuendos
Note: This list is not complete. If you want to contribute, use the contact form.
episode 207b “The Silent King”
– repeated references to spanking — the goblin king Zergioch would regularly spank his subjects for fun.
episode 301a “Conquest of Cuteness”
– Finn says “I’m gonna go manhandle those guys’ banandles”… Jake’s reply: “What?”
episode 302b “Hitman”
– the Ice King drips honey on Breakfast Princess’ waffle while moaning.
– Finn & Jake are making sandwiches. Jake tells Finn the meat is “Meat-Man’s meat” and they wonder if it hurts when “meat-man gives us his meat” … and right after, the Ice King flies in through the window and spits snow everywhere.
episode 311b “Paper Pete”
– When Paper Pete introduces himself, he tells Finn, “But you can call me Pe-pe.” Finn replies, “Uhh… I’ll call you Pete.”
143 Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Die
This is a piece I wrote for a personal development podcast which isn’t online any more called “Go Legendary”. I thought it might fit here — thanks for reading.
Sometimes, We All Need A Kick In The Butt.
This list was designed to do just that.
Grab a sheet of paper, read through the list, and write down the first answer that comes to mind. You’ll need to think about some more than others, but if you can get through all 143 of them, you’ll have packed more introspection into one session than most people do in a year–or maybe their entire lives.
Ready… set… go!
What I Know About Me and The World
- who am I?
- what do I know to be true?
- what are three of my best qualities according to me?
- what are three of my best qualities according to my best friend?
- what are three of my best qualities according to my significant other (or ex)?
- what are my three worst qualities?
- who is my best friend?
- what excuses have I been telling myself to keep me from action?
- what does my name mean?
- was I named after anyone?
- when was the last time I did something for the first time?
- who was my childhood hero?
- what three words describe my current first impression?
- what three words describe my ideal first impression?
- when i’m wasting time, what do I like doing?
- i need to calm myself down. what do I do?
- i need to pump myself up. what do I do?
- i just woke up. what’s the first thing to cross my mind?
- what’s my favorite thing to do when i’m by myself?
- what makes me want to work out/exercise? if I don’t, why not?
- what, if anything, would I like to be responsible for?
- do I have any traditions? what are they?
- what limitations do I think I have?
- what would be different if I didn’t have them?
- when I meet a new person, what do I notice about them?
The Story So Far
- what’s the motto for this era of my life
- who are the primary characters in my story right now (besides me?)
- how are they influencing me?
- how am I influencing them?
- what do I want more of in my life to make me happy?
- what do I want less of in my life?
- when was the last time I lost track of time?
- what’s the most important thing to focus on right now?
- what’s my quest in life?
- what are three things that make me happy?
- what are three things that i’m grateful for?
- when was the last time I sang karaoke?
- when was the last time I helped someone?
- who has helped me get where I am?
- what choice do I regret in my life?
What’s Next for Me?
- where do I want to visit next?
- what one habit would I like to make?
- what one habit would I like to break?
- who would I meet, if I could meet anyone?
- what sport (extreme or otherwise) would I like to try?
- what natural wonders do I want to see before I die?
- what celebrations/festivals/parties do I want to attend?
- what parties do I want to throw?
- what will my funeral be like?
- what’s an adventure that I can have in the next 30 days?
- what needs to be in my will?
- do I want to get married? if married, do I want to get divorced?
Your Creative Side
- if/when I get interviewed on TV, who will do the interview?
- if/when I get interviewed on TV, what will we talk about?
- if I were going to build ONE of something, what would it be?
- if I could invent something to change the world, what would it be?
- would I rather write a book, tv show, or screenplay?
- what would this written work be about?
- what skill/hobby would I like to master in my life?
- what’s something that I collect, or would like to collect?
The Best In The World
- what is the best book I’ve ever read?
- what book should everyone else read?
- what book have I been wanting to read (but haven’t yet)?
- what is my favorite photograph?
- what’s my favorite piece of artwork?
- what is the best movie ever?
- what’s a classic movie I haven’t seen but have wanted to?
- if I could have ONE superpower, what would I choose?
- if I could become an animal, what would I choose?
- if I won the lottery, what would I do with my winnings?
- who is one of my current heroes?
- if a genie gave I three wishes, what would I ask for?
- what is the best food ever?
- what’s one food i’d like to try?
- what is my favorite color and what does it symbolize?
- if I were in a musical group, what type of music would I play?
- what is the best smell in the world?
- what time of day are I most productive?
- what time of day are I most useless?
- what’s my dream job?
- what do I do better than anyone I know?
- what are my biggest strengths/assets?
- what are my hidden talents?
The Darker Side of You
- have I ever committed a crime?
- if I were going to plan a heist, what would I steal?
- what’s the worst thing i’ve ever done for myself?
- what’s the best thing i’ve ever done for myself?
- What’s a secret that I’ve never told anyone (about yourself or about someone else)?
- what has been the saddest moment of my life?
- what am I afraid of?
- If I wasn’t afraid of these things, how would my life be different?
- Am I afraid to die? why?
What If…
- what is the thing i’re most proud of accomplishing so far?
- what will I regret doing or not doing if I continue living as I are?
- what do I want my legacy to be?
- if I retired today, what would I do?
- at what age do I plan to retire?
- given $ : 100, 1000, 10,000, 1mil – what do I do with it?
- i have to get a tattoo. what and where?
- what was the best part of being a kid?
- i have to change my name. what’ll it be?
- You have to write a letter to someone (that’s right, a real letter.) Who’s it going to? What’ll it say?
- what would I change about my appearance?
- if I could tell my past self anything, what would it be?
Deep Questions
- what parts of my life have become stagnant?
- what are my most appealing characteristics?
- am I doing something that matters?
- what am I doing to help others?
- what am I afraid of?
- who do I love, and what am I doing about it?
- am I taking enough risks?
- what’s a calculated risk I could take this week?
- what makes me angry?
- what was my most fulfilling/content moment?
- when am I proud of what i’ve done?
- what grudges am I holding?
- when do I stand up for myself?
- what path does my heart say I should follow?
- do I smile more, or frown more?
- what did I used to love doing, when I was young?
- what excites me about the future?
- where do I want to be tomorrow?
- what do I look forward to every day?
- when I daydream, what do I see?
Unlocking Your Passions
- what subject can I talk about for hours?
- what do I most enjoy doing for others?
- what are five experiences that gave me a sense of growth and fulfillment?
- what makes me smile?
- what’s easy for me?
- what sparks my creativity and gets I imagining?
- what would I do for free?
- what would I regret not having tried?
- if I could subscribe to only 5 magazines, what would they be?
- if I were stranded on a desert island with food, water, and shelter, what would I miss most?
- what external barriers are holding me back from pursuing my passion?
- what do people frequently ask I for help with?
- if I had to teach something, what would I teach?
- if I were giving a TED talk (18-minute presentation to a young, intelligent and influential audience), what would it be about?
- what are my values (http://thinksimplenow.com/resources/ThinkSimpleNow-Values.pdf)
- what challenges have I already overcome?
- what challenges are I now facing?
- if I could live in one place for the rest of my life, where and why?
- what’s on my bucket list (to do before I die)?